


Whisker Wizards 1: The Elegy of the Ashen Bastard

by HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda



Series: Whisker Wizards [2]
Category: Original Work
Genre: Body Horror, Fantasy, Gen, Magic, Talking Animals
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-16
Updated: 2020-04-16
Packaged: 2021-03-02 00:22:19
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23676064
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda/pseuds/HexalianRebel_FeatheredPanda
Summary: "The witch upon the mountainsidetoyed with Life and Death so brash,til the village caught her in her sinand her bastard burned to ash."
Series: Whisker Wizards [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1647316





	Whisker Wizards 1: The Elegy of the Ashen Bastard

**Author's Note:**

> I suppose one could call this a "big" project. This is the novel I've currently been trying to stitch together. I admit I don't have much, but I really like this fantasy setting, and I want to do a lot with it.

He could remember the screams clearest. All the Pawfolks running away from the epicenter that he’d created. That he moved with laborious steps. Desperate steps toward what he prayed were his saviors.

“Mama!!” Molten fluids poured down his face and body behind his choked cries, scorching his fur as it hardened around his paws.

The cold always came next, and the sensation of a window breaking behind his head before the water filled his nose.

\------------

He screamed as he sat upright, only to be cut off by coughing over the side of his bed. His quilt had burns on it again; they didn’t look as bad, but that didn’t always mean they’d be easier to remove.

“Euka?!” The panicked call was followed by his door being thrown open by a tall brown cat, her eyes wide and ears sharply at attention.

Euka’s fur had stood up instantly, and he curled himself under his quilt as she burst inside, still trying to quell his coughing. “I-I’m fine, Ms. Bell, please.” He insisted, waving one paw to motion her out.

He couldn’t see her face, but she sighed as she closed the door. “Only if you’re positive. Come down when you’re dressed.”

“Yes, ma’am.” He called a bit louder when the door latched, and he slipped out to the floor to shake himself off. Euka sighed and approached his water basin, standing to grip the sides of it and stare at himself in the mirror. His grey fur had filled back in nicely over the years, and the burns were almost completely covered. He pushed on his face to check though; he never really could believe it.

His eyes though: a plain dark brown. Euka hated looking at them; hated the lies they told everyone.

“Eucalyptus! You’re going to miss breakfast!”

He turned when he heard someone knocking, his tail perking up at the voice. “Save me something then!” He shouted back, running to retrieve a pair of pants from the chest at the foot of his bed. He removed his vest from the hook as he opened the door, nudging playfully past his rabbit friend as he pulled the door shut with his tail.

The spotted rabbit smirked, catching his glasses before they could fall and trailing Euka down the stairs. “Heard you wake up. Same dream again?”

“As always.” Euka sighed as they took their places at the end of the breakfast line, buttoning up his red vest. “It feels more and more clear every night, Nesska; I’m so tired.”

“How’s the quilt?” Nesska laughed when Euka glared at him.

“It’s not ashes yet, if that means anything.” A bowl of re-boiled chicken stew was set into Euka’s paws while Nesska was offered a plate of glazed apples.

“Oh, don’t be like that. It means we can test the new potions I’ve been mixing! I’ll fortify that wool yet, you hear me?” 

Euka chuckled lightly, grabbing a wooden fork and spoon while Nesska grabbed a bread roll from the basket on the counter.

“Alright, so, day plans:” Nesska said as they took the table beside the window, holding out the roll for Euka to tear half off. “I want you to come see me at the Smithies’ later. They’ve said that I can finally take out my projects.”

“You’re still training with them? What about the—”

“That joke about Tavernmaids being potion experts isn’t funny!” The rabbit’s chuckles said otherwise, and he took the fork he was offered to start eating his breakfast. “Really though, the Smithies are nice; they still ask about you all the time. Plus, they’d pay you a fortune to use that flame of yours.”

That was where Euka’s smile faded a bit. He gave a faint chuckle though after swallowing a spoonful. “Well, you know my answer. Besides, Kitlo is going to kill me if I fall behind my training.”

Nesska smiled softly, fixing his glasses again as he kept quiet.

“What day is it anyway?” Euka murmured after a few moments, looking through the window for the sun.

“It’s Marzonsi, obviously. Glazed apples, remember? Have you been forgetting to mark your calendar again?”

Euka snorted, leaning back as he tipped the remains of the bowl into his mouth. “That calendar’s been dead for a while now. Don’t tell Ms. Bell; I haven’t bought a new one yet.”

“You probably should just tell her. We don’t get our allowance until Zeronsi, and I heard a rumor that paper is getting more expensive.”

“Hush, I’ll figure it out.” Euka put the roll in his mouth as he got up to return his bowl and spoon. “Anyway, have you got a potion to test?”

Nesska’s ear perked up as he tried to process his friend’s muffled words, smiling as he sprang out of his chair. “Oh! A potion. For your quilt, right? Of course; just bring it outside.” The rabbit handed in his plate and fork before scurrying up the stairs.

“Don’t be long, okay?” Euka called as he followed him until he reached his room. “I need to get to Kitlo’s garden.”

His only response was a clatter of bottles, and Euka rolled his eyes.

The pair stood in the shadow of Bell Towers with a washing tub set up in the grass, Euka adjusting the straps holding his sword and Nesska scrubbing a cleansing potion into another empty tub against the wall. Ms. Bell sighed with a slight smile as she carried a shining orb in her glowing paws.

“Be careful this time, Nesska;” she said firmly, piercing the orb with her claws to release the water it carried into the wooden tub Euka stood beside. “you still haven’t finished scrubbing the tub your last potion stained.”

“But you said you liked the oven mitts, Ms. Bell! And I can make them even better now!” Nesska said brightly, reaching into one of the pockets on his belt to pull out a bottle of dark red liquid. His ears pinned down to the back of his head as the old cat looked unamused. “Y-Yes, ma’am.”

She chuckled and waved calmly as she went back into the building. Euka snickered as Nesska relaxed.

“Did you bring the quilt, at least?” The rabbit pouted.

“Yes, yes; just start mixing.” Euka opened the pouch attached to his own belt and removed an orb just barely the size of his open palm. “Did she really like those old gloves you gave her?”

“Well, considering I’m still in trouble, she obviously didn’t like them enough.” Nesska huffed, pouring the potion into the water and swirling it with his free paw.

“That’s what you get for hiding things from Ms. Bell, isn’t it?” Euka taunted, tearing into the orb he held. He yelped as the cork from the bottle thumped against the back of his head; and he laughed as he gathered the quilt from where it dropped, still folded thankfully, onto the grass. “Oh, come on now! At least I still wear the vest you stained, Nesskatastrophy.”

The bottle nearly broke on the edge of the tub as the rabbit jumped over it. “I will push you in this tub, Eucalyptus. And that isn’t clever.” He said, chuckles lacing his supposedly stern tone. “Just put the quilt in, would you? You’re already late.”

“What?!” Euka glanced up to look for the sun, suddenly moving frantically to heft the quilt into the reddened water.

Nesska chuckled as he gave minimal assistance, moving the braided wool to make sure the water soaked in. By the time he looked up, Euka was already gone, small wisps of smoke reaching from the grass where his paws landed. “We’ll check it after lunch!” He shouted, hopping out to pat down the embers. “And don’t die this time!”


End file.
